The Antique rug buying habits of Paul Manafort

The news of the day is indicted Paul Manafort blew $1 million on rugs after the crash of 2008 until 2013, presumably the time he started to plot Trump's rise.

The funny question is why so much, especially during a time when the rug market cratered. Unlike the political wonks who blame Iran sanctions, I name here a crueler foe, the market. Similar to antiques, which in some cases became worth ten cents on the dollar, exotic and antique rugs got cheap in the great recession. Manafort washed his money into rugs probably bought at half off of an earlier era retail price.

The indictment of Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort reveals, among other things, that the man knew how to spend money. In the five years between 2008 and 2013 he dropped several million dollars—from offshore accounts in Cyprus and the Grenadines—tricking out his houses in Florida and the Hamptons. And in sprees spanning both coasts, he spent another million on men’s clothes. Perhaps the weirdest expense, though, is the documented $1.03 million on antique rugs in Alexandria, the D.C. suburb where he keeps a condo.